Monthly Archives: July 2012

OKAY TOTALLY SPAZZING. One of my fave manga-turned animes just confirmed that it’s going to film a movie version! Bokura Ga Ita “We were There” is an ongoing, widely read romance manga that started in a high school setting. Nana, an ordinary girl falls in love with Yano, Mr. popular ikemen who’s cool, collected and well, has fangirls fawning all over him. While this seems like a totally normal scenario for all high school mangas, you know, the random, clumsy school girl who nabs the prince, Bokura sets itself apart as it combines the usual comedy and quirkiness with dark, intriguing circumstances. Eventually Nana and Yano get together as a couple, but soon insecurities arise as Nana discovers that Yano still hasn’t moved on from his ex-girlfriend who died. And get this, she and the girl have the same name! What are the odds, eh? But wait! There’s more! Apparently, to stab more daggers into Yano’s broken heart, the ex died while she was out with some guy. And after a year, Yamamoto, the ex-girlfriend’s younger sister (and also Nana’s friend), will be an emerging character as someone who is keeping a secret that may ruin Nana and Yano’s relationship. What started out as an innocent relationship turns to one that’s on the brink of betrayal, haunted by loss and insecurities. DUN DUN DUN DUN!!! It seems like a pretty convoluted plot for a manga, but trust me, it’s really addicting. It’s like Koizora (Sky of Love cell phone series) without a terminally ill character, lol. I think it’s still ongoing now, as it’s pegged to be a ten-year story, and I’ve only latched on until their high school years end. Lo, and behold, it’s getting its own movie version, starring a pretty interesting cast:

Yano will be played by Ikuta Toma, while Nana will be played by Yoshitaka Yuriko

Okay. Toma Ikuta makes sense as Yano, but Yuriko, while she’s a good actress and a refreshing one at that, seems kinda off. Nana is supposed to be a little ordinary, yet charming. She may not exactly be the prettiest girl in class, but she’s smart, nice and cheerful. That’s where the insecurity lies. What makes Nana interesting is that she doesn’t have confidence whether it’s against a dead ex-gf or in real life—but Yano still sees something in her and feels an incredible attraction.

Yoshitaka Yuriko

Girl is fierce! She played the leading role (her breakthrough in Jdom) in Snakes and Earrings, a daring and sexual character that highlighted her acting skills and courage to take on such a challenge. She’s also played alongside Shun Oguri and Mizushima Hiro in Tokyo Dogs. It’s gonna be interesting how she interacts with Toma and how she’s gonna downplay her “it girl” image to be the typical high school girl Nana.

Toma Ikuta

I wasn’t surprised that Toma got this role, as he’s always the obvious guy of choice for popular shojo mangas turned to live action. He’s played roles in Hana Kimi, Honey and Clover, and the villain in Hana Yori Dango. But he’s always pulled through with his strong acting and I’m sure he’ll do well as the emotastic brooding Yano. Meanwhile, Takaoka Sosuke will play the role of Yano’s best friend, ‘Takeuchi Masafumi’, and Nanami’s classmate will be played by Motokariya Yuika.

OKAY. Like the KPOP mating season, Japan seems to be milking its manga fame and manga writers’ ideas for movies and dramas. It’s not a new phenomenon or anything, it’s just that it’s prevalent lately. What with Paradise Kiss movie coming up and having watched Kimi ni Todoke, Samurai High and Yamato Nadeshiko. It’s a good year for us manga/anime otakus!

Itsuka Hi no Ataru Basho de Date: Tuesdays, 10.00 p.m. 8 January 2013 Station: NHK Cast: Ueto Aya, Iijima Naoko, Saito Takumi, Daito Shunsuke, Fukutoku Shusuke, Fujita Tomoko, Matsukane Yoneko, Ryu Raita, Asano Atsuko Synopsis: One (Ueto Aya) did it for the man she loved, the other (Iijima Naoko) to protect the life of her son. Two women stumbled in life because they committed crimes. After they are released from prison, they stay together and begin new lives in the old district of Yanaka in Tokyo while carrying pasts that no one must not know. Website: –

Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi Date: January 2013 Station: TV Tokyo Cast: Matsuda Ryuhei, Eita Synopsis: In the fictional town of Mahoro on the outskirts of Tokyo is Tada Benriken, a small business which does odd jobs. Its owner is the solemn and level-headed Tada Keisuke (Matsuda Ryuhei), and his unexpected guest, the easygoing but vague Gyoten Haruhiko (Eita), a former junior high school classmate who showed up one day and started to sponge on him. The two of them get on like oil and water, and yet are somehow inseparable. They receive queer, dubious incoming odd job requests which they accept, and what comes into view are the friendship between them as well as the backgrounds of their clients. Website: www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/mahoro

Yae no Sakura*NEW* Date: Sundays, 8.00 p.m. January 2013 Station: NHK Cast: Ayase Haruka, Nishijima Hidetoshi, Hasegawa Hiroki, Goriki Ayame, Kuroki Meisa, Matsushige Yutaka, Fubuki Jun, Hasegawa Kyoko, Kudo Asuka, Ayano Go, Inamori Izumi, Tamayama Tetsuji, Ikeuchi Hiroyuki, Saito Takumi, Kitamura Yukiya, Nakamura Shido, Nishida Toshiyuki, Kanjiya Shihori, Ashina Sei, Ichikawa Mikako, Shirahane Yuri, Akiyoshi Kumiko, Koizumi Kotaro, Murakami Hiroaki, Furuya Kenji, Namase Katsuhisa, Ichikawa Somegoro, Kosakai Kazuki, Sorimachi Takashi, Kato Masaya, Kikkawa Koji Synopsis: Niijima Yae (Ayase Haruka), who grew up in the Aizu domain, was a spunky girl despite her mother’s wishes that she be feminine. Because of anecdotes of how she barricaded herself with 500 women in Tsuruga Castle while being beseiged during the Boshin War, and fought with guns, she was acclaimed as the “Joan of Arc of the late Edo period”. After the Meiji Restoration, she became the wife of Niijima Jo, who had returned from America. She soon joined the Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War together with her Aizu comrades as Japan’s first volunteer nurses, going from warrior woman to Japan’s Nightingale. Website: www9.nhk.or.jp/yaenosakura